Is Jaywalking the New Stop-And-Frisk?
Nearly escaping oncoming traffic is like a rite of passage for every New Yorker.
It’s also a terrible idea. So far this year, 11 pedestrians have passed away in accidents with vehicles, four this past weekend.
Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced his “Vision Zero” plan to eliminate pedestrian deaths, from jaywalking to speeding.
“This will be a top-to-bottom effort to take on dangerous streets and dangerous driving,” he said. “From tougher enforcement to more safely-designed streets and stronger laws, we’ll confront this problem from every side—and it starts today.”
Cops bloody old man — for jaywalking
Cops bloodied an 84-year-old man and put him in the hospital Sunday when he jaywalked at an Upper West Side intersection and didn’t appear to understand their orders to stop, witnesses said.
Kang Wong was strolling north on Broadway and crossing 96th Street at around 5 p.m., when an officer told him to halt because he had walked against the light.
Police were targeting jaywalkers in the area following the third pedestrian fatality this month around West 96th Street.
Wong, who lives a block away, appeared to not understand the cop, the witnesses said.
